Coins are Stupid
by jamlord24601
Summary: Ethari has had a rough few months. Rated T to be safe
1. Chapter 1

Ethari had had an emotional rollercoaster of a past few weeks. First he thought his husband was dead and that Rayla had abandoned everyone. Then he found out that Rayla had not, in fact, deserted the group but rather found the dragon prince egg and was travelling with a human to deliver the egg. And then there was the whole: Your husband isn't actually dead, just STUCK IN A FRICKIN COIN.

What exactly was he supposed to do about that?!

Did they tell him how to get Runaan out of the cursed piece of metal? No. Did they tell him someone who could help him get his husband out of the coin? No!

What had they excepted from him when they handed him his husband incased in a small golden coin?

"Ethari?" A voice asked from behind him. Lifting his head with a sigh, he saw Rayla and her friend Callum standing in the doorway.

"What can I help you with, Rayla?" Ethari wondered, putting on a fake smile.

"Nothing," she answered, walking closer to him. "I just wanted to see if you'd made any progress."

Ethari sighed again, looking down at the map he'd laid out in front of him. For the past hour, he'd been trying to narrow down places where he might find someone to help him get his husband out of a coin. Last week, he'd figured that he'd need a source of dark magic, considering it was dark magic that had put Runaan in his current prison in the first place. However, the problem was that he'd need a human in order to use dark magic, and even with Ezran on the throne of Katolis, it wouldn't be easy for him to do so.

"Don't worry about me, Rayla," Ethari told her, still fake smiling. "Go have fun with your friend."

Reluctantly, Rayla left his workshop, Callum following closely behind. Ethari dropped his head against the table.

"What am I going to do?"

Rayla sat down at the edge of the pool, placing her head in her hands in frustration. She wasn't stupid. She could tell Ethari wasn't doing okay, and she wanted to help fix that, but she couldn't.

"I wish there was something we could do to help him," Callum said as he sat down next to her.

"Me too," Rayla nodded, "but Ethari said he needs dark magic, and we don't have access to that here."

"I could..."

Rayla cut him off before he could continue. "No, absolutely not, Callum. You're not using dark magic."

"But..."

"No."

They then sat in silence for a while, just staring at the pool before them. Rayla stared at Runaan's flower, just below the surface of the water. If only there were someway I could help.

"I've got it!" Callum shouted, standing up suddenly and causing Rayla to jump.

"What is it?" Rayla asked, fully preparing herself for a stupid suggestion.

"We've been so focused on bringing Ethari to the dark magic," he started enthusiastically, "but what if what we really need to do is bring the dark magic to Ethari!"

Huh. It actually wasn't the worst idea Callum had ever had.

"So what you're saying is we go get someone who can do dark magic and then bring them here to Ethari?" Rayla asked.

"Yeah!" Callum smiled, looking proud of himself. "I mean, worse case scenario is that they turn on us and kill us."

"Or that Ethari doesn't let us go because he thinks your idea is stupid."

"Then we won't tell him," Callum suggested.

"This is a terrible idea," Rayla sighed, standing in front of Callum and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Maybe," Callum agreed with a grin. "But think of how happy Ethari will be when we succeed! He'll have Runaan back!"

He did have a point. Curse him.

"Fine," Rayla sighed. At this point, she felt obliged to help Runaan after letting him down that night they stormed Katolis, even if helping meant going with one of Callum's crazy plans that could possibly get them killed. "Let's do it."


	2. Chapter 2

Ethari started getting suspicious when Rayla and Callum started making excited noises, so loud that he could hear them even though he was inside. Setting down the map he was hunched over with a sigh, he got up and decided to investigate what was going on.

"I mean, worse case scenario is that they turn on us and kill us," Callum's voice rang out from down below.

Turn on them and try to kill them? Ethari wondered. What in Xadia were they talking about?

"Or that Ethari doesn't let us go because he thinks your idea is stupid," Rayla countered.

Stars above, what are they planning that I wouldn't approve that could potentially get them killed? Ethari quietly continued making his way down the winding staircase to the pool where Callum and Rayla were talking, trying his best not to make a noise that would alert them of his presence.

"Then we won't tell him," Callum suggested.

Ah, yes, Ethari thought sarcastically. Don't tell the person who is legally responsible for the girl you're talking to about your utterly fantastic plan to get the both of you in trouble, or quite possibly, get you both killed. Bravo, Callum.

"This is a terrible idea," Rayla sighed, standing in front of Callum and crossing her arms over her chest.

Finally! Someone with good common sense!

"Maybe," Callum agreed with a grin. "But think of how happy Ethari will be when we succeed! He'll have Runaan back!"

Ethari stopped in his tracks when he heard those words come out of Callum's mouth. Did Rayla and Callum know of some other (dangerous) method to get Runaan back? Why didn't they tell him about it?

"Fine. Let's do it," Rayla agreed. Ethari chose that moment to make his presence known.

"Do what, exactly?" He asked. The high-pitched squeal that came out of Callum as the boy shot a good three feet into the air was almost as entertaining as the look of pure terror in Rayla's eyes before she realised it was only Ethari and not someone out to get her.

"Ethari! How long have you been standing there?" Rayla wondered, her shocked expression turning into one of curiosity.

"Since the two of you decided to not tell me something about Runaan," he stated, walking closer to the two. Rayla blushed and Callum laughed nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck as he tried to figure out what he was going to say. Ethari crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for an explanation.

"Callum thought that instead of you trying to find someone or something that could do dark magic and go to them that we could go find them or it and bring it back to you," Rayla eventually told him. She could never lie to Ethari, and the older elf knew it.

"So you two were going to run off in search of dark magic without telling anyone where you'd gone or when you might be back?" Ethari questioned. He could believe that Rayla would be that stupid to go off on a dangerous mission, so unprepared. He fully expected that from Callum. But Rayla? He'd thought that he and Runaan had taught her better than that.

"Well when you put it that way..." Callum started.

"I'll take that as a yes," Ethari cut him off with a sigh.

"I'm really sorry, Ethari," Rayla told him, sitting down hard on the edge of the pool with a look of defeat. "I guess I didn't really think it through."

"Don't apologise, Rayla," he laughed, sitting down next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Rayla leaned her head on his shoulder with a sigh. "You didn't do anything wrong. Yet."

"We just thought you looked miserable and we wanted to help." Callum sat on the ground in front of Ethari so he could look him in the eyes while he talked to him. It was a quality of Callum's that Ethari respected: The boy, while stupid at times, was polite and respectful to everyone, even those who didn't deserve it.

"And I thank you both for trying to help," Ethari told him with a smile. "But maybe next time you could tell me what your plan is so I can help you."

"You mean, you'll let us go?" Rayla asked hopefully, sitting upright and backing away from Ethari, just enough so she could look at his face to try and find an answer in his facial expression before his voice could tell her yes or no.

"It is a brilliant idea, one I had not thought of. I would be foolish not to try it out," he said, watching the look on Rayla's face get more and more hopeful. "However, if I am to let you both go, I expect you to do two things."

"Anything!" The both shouted at the same time.

"First: I'm coming with you."

The both groaned, but neither one of them objected.

"And second: You will listen to me if I tell you to do something," he told them. "I'm not going to be overbearing and obnoxious and tell you to do things all the time. What I mean is that if I tell you to go back home, you go back home. If I tell you to leave me behind, you leave me behind. Understood?"

"Understood," Rayla responded quietly.

"So if I'm being 'annoying' or whatever and you tell me to shut up, does that mean I 100% do have to shut my mouth? Or can I..." Callum started but Rayla kicked him in the shin.

"Callum!" She hissed at him, glaring at him with intensity.

"Understood!" He told Ethari, who laughed at the whole situation.

"Alright then," Ethari said as he stood up. "Pack a few important things like food and weapons, and we'll be off!"


End file.
